


Given Luck

by CherryK



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Best Friends, Fluff, Forgive Me, Gen, so much that it makes me sad, spoilers for Retrace 53, they just care a lot about each other, they're not really together yet or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 04:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4291047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryK/pseuds/CherryK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oz's second coming-of-age-ceremony is coming up, Xerxes' hair is a mess and Reim quickly fixes the problem... or does he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Given Luck

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea on the train home and spent my afternoon writing it... kinda felt nice giving a bigger meaning to such a small detail. Hope it's somewhat enjoyable... also, excuse the lame title, I spent literally half an hour trying to come up with something and this is all I have, oh well...

A quick glance at the clock on his desk told Reim that their carriage to Yura’s mansion would depart in no less than twenty minutes. With a pleased huff he adjusted his glasses once again. He was ready to go – unlike a certain someone, as it appeared.

“Reim-kuuun..! Are you in there? You don’t happen to have a pair of gloves I could borrow, do you?”

Xerxes Break was leaning against the doorframe, waving a gloveless hand in his general direction. He had most likely been forced to put on the suit he was wearing, as he didn’t look entirely comfortable with his attire. The cravat, adorned with a large bow and an equally pompous purple gemstone, had surely been Sharon-sama’s idea and Xerxes was wearing it to avoid the lady’s wrath… and her harisen. Reim would have been lying, though, if he had said it didn’t suit him well altogether. His hair, on the other hand, was an entirely different story – it proved to be as unruly as it had ever been. Something needed to be done about that, Reim decided, as he pulled another pair of gloves from a nearby drawer.

“You aren’t going to attend a public event like this, are you, Xerx?”

The blind man’s eye widened in surprise and he moved to smooth down the front of his overcoat reflexively. “Is something not right?”

“I’m not talking about your clothing.” Reim stepped closer and lightly tugged on one of the white strands that framed his face, chuckling as the sudden motion made Xerxes jump. He handed him the gloves. “I could take care of this, if you’d like.”

Xerxes swatted at him with the garments. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. I’m not some noisy noble showing off their looks, am I~”

“But what would Sharon-sama say? All this fancy clothing she chose, just to be ruined by her stubborn servant’s tousled hair… won’t she be terribly disappointed?” Reim crossed his arms, aware that the other wouldn’t be able to see it, but still trying to make a point.

The white-haired man seemed to have sensed the gesture. “… Fiiiine, just shut up already.” Rolling his lone red eye Xerxes pushed past Reim, made his way over to the mirror and pulled up a chair, which he then sat on backwards.

A box of hairpins was quickly taken from a closet. Those hadn’t seen the light of day in a very long time, but they would still do their job. Reim began to gently comb through the other’s hair, undoing tiny knots as he went. Xerxes didn’t appear to enjoy the treatment much, if the tension in his posture was any indication.

“You can relax, you know. I’m not going to rip your head off.”

Xerxes snorted at the comment, but eventually allowed himself to give in to Reim’s touch. Little by little the thick hair on the back of his head was tamed. Reim would need to make sure not to use too many of the pins to keep everything in place, as the black went well with the suit, but stood out all the more against the starkly contrasting colour of his hair. He couldn’t help but notice how incredibly soft it felt and had to resist the urge to take more time than necessary, just to thread his fingers through it for a while longer. The carriage…

How calm Xerxes had become all of a sudden. Reim found it hard to hide his astonishment. He added one last hairpin, noting that they had only five minutes to go until they would have to leave. Quickly he reached into a drawer of his desk, searching behind stacks of paper… there it was! With utmost care he attached a thin beaded chainlet to a hairpin behind Xerxes’ ear. Several small white pearls were threaded on delicate silver, now almost reaching down to touch his shoulder. Reim stepped back to admire his work.

Xerxes had been torn from his trance by something tinkling behind his ear. When he felt Reim’s hands leaving the back of his head he turned around in his chair, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“I-it’s a good luck charm. It belonged to my mother.”

“What would I need a good luck charm for, I wonder?”

Reim bit his lip. “I’ve… been having a bad feeling about this second coming-of-age-ceremony, considering what happened during the first one so long ago. If anything were to occur, I hardly think you would stand by and let it happen, would you, Xerx?”

“Ah, well… no, I wouldn’t.” The shorter man patted his trusted cane, which was hiding a deadly blade.

“That’s why I wanted you to have this. I know it’s not much, but with you and your recklessness…” he sighed, “Listen, I just want you to be careful, Xerx. I-I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

Xerxes opened his mouth to tell Reim that he would be fine, he knew what he was doing, but he was promptly cut off by two hands gripping his shoulders firmly.  
“I mean it, Xerxes Break. Be safe tonight and – whatever happens – don’t you dare die on me.”

Thus, Reim left the room, probably heading outside to depart. Xerxes was left sitting in his chair, the beaded chainlet tingling quietly every time he moved his head.

He felt… warm.

A small smile settled on his features as he carefully held the fragile chain between his fingers. How did a sinner like him even deserve such a friend? He really needed to go. They were not going to wait for him. With one last touch before he left he made sure that the hairpin was fastened securely and wouldn’t fall off.

“Thank you, ne, Reim-kun.”

 

Later that night Xerxes found himself somewhere in a dark dungeon, presumably surrounded by Baskervilles. The mansion above him was burning and filled with panicked screams. Learning about the dead body lying on the ground before him he wished that Reim had kept the good luck charm.

**Author's Note:**

>  ~~Now you didn't expect _that_ , did you?~~ I'm so sorry about that ending, I am _**so sorry**_ , I don't know what came over me! It just looked so incomplete without that paragraph and I just- *weeps*
> 
> I'm so glad March Hare does what he does, I can't even-


End file.
